<font color="#CC0033">Emvies 2008:</font> Mudra Radar creates a blackout for Reliance Power

While most IPOs use functional ads which are full of information, Reliance Power didn’t follow this route. A whole new communication plan, called ‘Power On. India On’, was created for its IPO

One of the five case studies presented in the category for Best Media Innovation – TV at the Emvies 2008 was the communication campaign for the Reliance Power IPO.

Reliance’s media agency, Mudra Radar, had the task of generating a buzz about the newly formed Reliance Power’s initial public offering (IPO), coming up on January 15, 2008. An IPO for a new company was something that had never done before. It was also the largest IPO India had seen, looking to generate Rs 11,563 crore. Reliance was looking at new markets and new consumers, and not just metros, for the IPO.

While most IPOs use functional ads which are full of information, Reliance Power didn’t follow this route. A whole new communication plan, called ‘Power On. India On’, was created for its IPO.

Mudra Radar wanted to use a unique strategy that had never been used before. Its spokesperson shared that usually, IPOs target only men who are relatively older and only in the top metros. But the Reliance Power IPO targeted these and also working women, youth and people in Tier II and Tier III towns.

But was this enough? They realised they needed an innovation, something that was different and new. Thus, the idea was born to create a memorable disruption. This is what was done: Disruptions were created in between shows, songs, news and movies on different TV channels. A news story would get over on NDTV and the screen would go blank, with only the channel logo to be seen on the top right corner. A few seconds later, the message, ‘Power On. News On. Reliance Power’, would appear.

Similarly, on MTV, while a song played, the screen would go blank and a few seconds later, a message would come up, saying, ‘Imagine if there is no power. Power On. Music On. Reliance Power.’ All the disruptions capitalised on the moment of truth.

Thus, special disruptive ad slots were created. This innovation was implemented on 57 channels, across six genres, and 6,000 spots were played for 18 days in addition to the regular ad spots. The spokesperson added that they managed 100 per cent delivery, with 0 per cent incremental cost.

The result: Three world records were created. One, the Reliance Power IPO was fully subscribed in 58 seconds. Two, there were 4.9 million retail subscribers. Three, with a demand for shares worth more than Rs 7,50,000 crore, the issue was oversubscribed 73 times.

For the record, the Emvies are given out in six categories after a two stage judging process by a panel of industry experts. Gold and silver awards are given in each category. The categories are Best Media Strategy, Best Media Innovation, Best Media Research, Best Integrated Campaign, Media Agency of the Year and the Grand Emvie. In addition, there are two special award categories – the TAM Award for the Best TV Research and the People’s Choice Award for the Best Case Study Presentation. The Emvies are awarded to both planners and implementers.

Every year, Ad Club Mumbai organises an event in which shortlisted entries are presented before the audience. This year, there are 53 shortlisted entries across categories. The Emvies will be given out on July 28 at The Grand Hyatt in Santacruz, Mumbai.

The presenting sponsor for Emvies 2008 is NDTV Media, while the associate sponsors are SaharaOne, Just TV Punjabi, Mi Marathi and Microsoft Advertising.